Former Glendora and Whittier doctor sentenced to six years in prison for molestation

POMONA - A former family doctor who practiced in Glendora has been sentenced to six years in prison for molesting a child and an adult.

Dr. Raul Galindo Ixtlahuac, 51, of Glendora was sentenced Monday in Pomona Superior Court after he pleaded no contest to continuous sexual abuse of a minor and sexual penetration of an adult victim, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Lisa Coen said.

The woman was molested while she was a patient of Ixtlahuac's - then working for HealthCare Partners Medical Group in Glendora; the minor, who was 10 or younger at the time, was a "social contact," Coen said.

"I'm happy about the outcome because he is going to do prison time, he's going to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life," Coen said. "I was able to save - especially my minor victim - from having to testify."

Ixtlahuac's medical license was suspended in November because of this case, according to court documents.

The doctor also worked for a time with the Montes Medical Group in Whittier, according to a website that rates doctors.

This was not the first time Ixtlahuac was accused of molestation. Several patients sued the physician, then a Kaiser Permanente gynecologist in Gilroy, about a decade ago for allegedly sexually assaulting them during exams. The jury was hung the first time and he was acquitted the second time in Santa Clara County, Coen said.

"He had a prior history," Coen said. "My understanding was that the very first trial up north, it was a 10-2 (vote) or 11-1 for guilty and unfortunately, he got an acquittal the second time around. It's just very unfortunate."

The adult victim in this most recent case, a 43-year-old Glendora resident, read an impact statement in court declaring that Ixtlahuac ruined her trust in all health care professionals.

"I can't begin to describe the kind of mental anguish I have been suffering because of this," she told the court, according to her victim impact statement. "He used his position of trust to act out his sick and perverted crimes on innocent people ... all in the name of `healthcare."'